19 African migrants drown.

A boat capsized off the coast of the Canary Islands resulting in 19 African migrants drowning, reports the BBC. An 8-year-old girl is among the dead. Six people were rescued from the boat this past weekend and helicopters are searching the area for more survivors. Three people are still thought to be missing. But as time goes by, hope for finding more people alive grows more and more dim. Most of the people on the boat are thought to be from Morocco. Thousands of North Africans have flocked to the Spanish Canary Islands, which are off the coast of North Africa, in the past few years in search of a better life, reports the news service. The number of migrants that actually make it there, however, has gone down recently due to an increase in security. Only 9,000 migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2008, compared to almost 32,000 in 2006.

Turks and Caicos leader to step down. Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick has announced that he’ll step down from his post next month. He says the move is in the best interest of his political organization, the Progressive National Party (PNP), amid corruption allegations: “In recent months, there has been much discontent among some ministers and PNP members…It now appears to me that the divide within the party is too deep.” Las year, while a Foreign Affairs Select Committee made up of British Parliament members were routinely examining the affairs of British territories, they found that Misick was allegedly gaining from “selling off Crown land to fund current investment.” Misick says he’ll leave office effective March 31. His public separation from actress wife Lisa Raye has also made headlines recently.

The European Union will open a job center in Africa.

In a move to cut down illegal immigration, the European Union is set to open its first immigration center in Africa, reports the BBC. The center will be in Mali. Each year, thousands of West Africans (often crammed into small boats) die attempting to make the dangerous journey to European countries in search of jobs. The organization hopes that the center will help Africans find legal jobs in Europe, so they don’t have to risk their lives making the trip. In addition, the center will provide information on how to come to Europe legally and assist with job training, the European Commission says. Even college graduates in many West African nations have hard time finding jobs and many times even a basic “low wage” job in Europe will go long way towards supporting their families.

Government doctors fight staph infection.

Just as NBA Star Grant Hill rallies others who have experience with the flesh-eating staph infection known as MRSA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a campaign to make parents more aware of the dangerous and potentially deadly effects of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The government campaign hopes to get parents to identify, prevent and combat the infection. Often mistaken for a spider bite as the symptoms, MRSA also causes painful, red, swollen areas on skin that sometimes ooz puss, experts say. MRSA infection begins as a bump or infected area on the skin, is warm to touch and maybe accompanied by fever. It is contracted when someone touches an infected area or shares a personal item with someone who is already infected. Athletes are more prone to this infection, but it is also common at hospitals. To prevent the disease, the CDC advises frequent hand-washing, no sharing of personal items such as towels and to keep any wound or cut clean and bandaged. Early detection is always advisable as the infection at a later stage becomes difficult to treat. As part of the awareness campaign, the CDC hopes to develop Web sites, brochures, fact sheets, posters, radio and print public services, Web banners and mom-blogging sites. To find out more about Hill’s personal experience with the deadly staff infection and the Stop MRSA Now campaign go to BET.com/Body & Soul.  

Study: Fast-Food Ads Target Blacks.   A higher exposure to fast-food ads and marketing of other fatty foods is in part to blame for why overweight and obesity rates are such a bigger problem for African Americans (68.9 percent) than for Whites (59.5 percent), says the numbers crunched by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Read more at BET.com’s Body & Soul.
 

Blacks with lung disease have twice the cancer risk. Blacks with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – including chronic bronchitis and some types of serious chronic asthma – have twice the risk of developing lung cancer than Whites with the condition, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Carol Etzel of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues developed a risk assessment model to help predict Blacks’ risk for lung cancer. Researchers analyzed data on 491 Blacks with lung cancer and 497 Blacks without the disease and compared those numbers against models that measured the disease in Whites. Researchers said the model will help doctors better predict lung cancer risk. The new model found that Black men with a history of chronic lung disease, often called COPD, had a more than a six-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer, which is about the same risk for those who smoke. According to Reuters, both Black and White smokers have a risk of lung cancer six times higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, but pollution, and other environmental factors also play a role, Reuters reports. “What we hope is that a doctor can use these models to encourage their patients to take steps to prevent lung cancer,” Dr. Ezel says. “Even if they are never smokers, they can be at risk.”

Nearly one in three African Americans have yet to get registered
While Sen. Barack Obama’s historic campaign has injected a powerful dose of enthusiasm into America – particularly Black America – there are still 8 million African Americans that have not yet been moved to register. Rick Wade, who handles African-American voter outreach for the Obama campaign says that some 32 percent of the Black voting-age population is currently out of the loop. “Our principle focus has been a 50-state voter registration initiative,” Wade told NNPA. “I think we all appreciate that if we increase the number of African American registered voters and then increase turnout and get people to the polls on Nov. 4, then Sen. Obama will be the next president of the United States.” Four years ago, more than one in 10 voters was Black, he said. “If the percentage of African Americans was a mere two-and-a-half percent higher, 13.5 percent, Democrats would currently be running for re-election at this time,” he said. “For example in the state of Ohio in 2004, we lost by two percent or 100,000 votes. There were 270,000 unregistered African Americans. I use that as an illustration to show how the African American vote can make the difference in a state and across this country. So the African American vote can absolutely make the difference in this election.” Here’s how to get registered: Go to to BET.com’s Decision ‘08 and click the “registration” link.

Black Republicans are calling African Americans back “home.”

Saying that Sen. John McCain is the better candidate, some high-profile Black Republicans say that if African Americans check their values, they’ll see that they line up precisely with the Grand Old Party. Should Black folks be hooking their collective wagon to an elephant instead of a donkey? Find out more at Pamela On Politics.

Obama officially becomes the nation’s first African-American major-party nominee

For a countless number of Americans – particularly older African Americans and others tired of a social and political system grounded in racial inequality – Sen. Barack Obama’s historic ascension as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Wednesday night ignited an emotional explosion. Read more here.

South African dog fights another dog to save boy. In South Africa, a Rottweiler fought off a pit bull who was mauling a little boy, reports the BBC. Two-year-old Tshepang Taeli and his grandmother were walking down the street when the pit bull attacked him, viciously dragging him down the road. Several residents kicked the dog to try to get him off of the child but he would not let go. “I have never felt so much pain in my life. The dog was attacking him and I was trying to release him and I could not,” said the boy’s grandmother. That’s when one neighbor went to get his Rottweiler, Blade, who helped save the boy’s life. “He fought the other dog to free the child. Blade is very protective,” Blade’s owner, Ricky Veludo told a local newspaper. The child was taken to the hospital, where he is now recovering from suffering bites on his face, legs and stomach. Police are investigating the attack.

Zimbabwe police arrest opposition lawmakers

Zimbabwe police arrested more opposition members Wednesday, saying they were connected to the violence before the country’s runoff election in June, reports CNN. Police insist the arrests of Movement for Democratic Change members, five in total, are not politically motivated. “These (parliament members) have been on the police wanted list which we made public. We have been looking for them for a long time since the offenses were committed,” a police spokesman said. But MDC officials are not buying it. They think the government along with longtime leader Robert Mugabe is just trying to cut down on the number of opposition members in parliament. “The arrests are harassment and an attempt to undermine our parliamentary majority,” MDC’s information director said. “We expected that retribution after having shown Mugabe that he is not welcome in parliament.” Mugabe was booed and heckled when he spoke in front of the body Tuesday. He still remains optimistic that a power sharing agreement, between himself and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai can be reached. The two are set to resume talks, mediated by South African president Thabo Mbeki, this week.

The neighbors say they were shocked by the discovery.
Historic D.C.-area church is defaced. Members of the First Baptist Church of Chesterbrook got the word last Sunday – the “N”-word, spray-painted in bold, block letters right next to the front door. “It was a very upsetting time,” Andre Johnson, a longtime member of the historic African-American church, told The Washington Post, adding that many of the congregants are concerned. “It was very disturbing to the membership” and “to me,” said James R. King, chairman of the board of deacons at the church, which traces its history to the Civil War era, when the neighborhood was known as Lincolnville. “That you would deface a house of worship . . . shocked us more than anything,” King said. It was the first racist incident he could recall in about 30 years – when somebody burned a cross on the front lawn of the edifice. The community has been very supportive, he said. “It’s a sick person who did that, [and] not an indication of what the community around us is like.”

White man files $6 million discrimination suit. Kevin Stevens, a 46-year-old air-conditioning maintenance worker, is suing the school board in Annapolis for $6 million, saying he’s been getting passed over for manager posts because he’s White. Stevens, who has been with the county school system for the past 28 years, says that he has been trying to move up for the past year and a half. “The hiring authority won’t allow me to advance,” Stevens told The Capital newspaper. “You work so hard, and you attain all these licenses and advanced education, and when no one will allow you to move, it’s very frustrating.” Stevens fixes heating and air-conditioning systems in county schools, but a year ago, he sought a post as night quality-control manager, according to his lawsuit. In that capacity, he would have been in charge of supervising night housekeeping crews in the schools. The Black man promoted instead worked under him for the past several years, says Stevens, noting that he has received high ratings on his evaluations and “has more letters of recommendation and more experience than the man who got the job,” the Capital reports. The supervisor of the operations division is also African American, which Stevens says is the reason he was not promoted.

Black weekly ceases printing amid money woes. After 16 years, The Bay View has bottled up the ink. From now on, according to founder Mary Ratcliff, the Oakland-based African-American weekly will be available online only. “This is not a goodbye to you, our beloved readers, though,” she promised her readers. “As the headline suggests, the Bay View’s not dead; we’ll see you on the Web! We’re pouring all our energy into improving our Web site, www.sfbayview.com, which has already recovered from a bad hacking enough to draw over a million hits a month.” She said that the printed version of the newspaper has been “a labor of love and the love,” but she and husband Willie Ratcliff were never able to make it profitable – or even sustainable. “Now we’ve had to face the reality that we’re flat out of funds or any source to tap.”

Lil’ Kim could be featured in Playboy

The rapper who presented an award to singer Diana Ross wearing a top made of pasties is reportedly ready to take things a step further. Lil’ Kim plans to pose nude for Playboy magazine, according to Web reports. The rapper, better known as Kimberly Jones, has been known for her sexuality since she began in the rap game during the late 1990s. She hasn’t confirmed the reports of her planned debut as a model for one of the most popular men’s magazines in America.

Comedian Mo’Nique among participants in “African World.”

Veteran R&B performers the O’Jays will headline one of the biggest annual Black cultural celebrations in the Midwest this weekend. Comedian and radio show host Mo’Nique will also appear, along with singer Talita Long, mother of actress Nia Long at the three-day African World Festival in Detroit. Black art, African and Caribbean cuisine, and musical rhythms from throughout the Diaspora will be featured today through Sunday at the free outdoor festival on Hart Plaza. Established by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the event has attracted as many as 1 million visitors.

Exercise thwarts high blood pressure.

For people with high blood pressure, exercise can be the most important lifestyle change they can make, researchers say. Yet two-thirds of doctors don’t take the time to tell their patients with high blood pressure about the importance of exercise and physical activity, a new study finds. “Patients do follow physician recommendations to exercise when instructed to, and patients who follow exercise recommendations tend to have lower systolic blood pressures than those who do not,” lead researcher Dr. Josiah Halm, a hypertension specialist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told HealthDay. The findings are published in the summer issue of Ethnicity & Disease. For the study, Halm’s team collected data on 17,474 people who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among these people, 4,686 reported having high blood pressure. The researchers found that only slightly more than one-third of the people with high blood pressure said their doctor had told them to increase physical activity as a way of bringing down their blood pressure. Yet, 71 percent of patients with high blood pressure saw a drop in their blood pressure when they increased their physical activity, which means that they listened when doctors told them to exercise more, according to the report. “Non-pharmacological methods, such as exercising, are important in improving blood pressure control on a population level as this study looked at the cross-section of the U.S. population,” Halm said.

Black Americans need more sun.

There is a growing body of scientific and medical research suggesting that concerns about skin cancer may have been exaggerated and that most Americans, especially African Americans, actually need greater exposure to sunshine and the valuable vitamin D it helps to produce, reports EURWeb. The most recent in a series of studies was released on Tuesday by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The researchers used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to conclude that not getting enough of the so-called “sunshine vitamin” appears to increase the risk of an early death by as much as 26 percent. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Erin Michos said low levels of vitamin D appear to “confer an increased risk of dying from any cause.” For African Americans, Jean Mayer of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston concluded in an earlier report: “Vitamin D insufficiency is more prevalent,” especially for Blacks living in the North. “Most young, healthy Blacks to not achieve optimal” levels of vitamin D from sunshine,” he says. That’s mostly because the natural pigment protection African Americans have against harmful ultra-violet rays reduces vitamin D absorption in North American environments, researchers say.  Studies show the sunshine vitamin offers a broad range of health benefits including boosting bone and muscle strength to offering protection against both cancer and diabetes. But Michos said more clinical studies were needed before that conclusion could be definitively made. Meanwhile, in 2007 a team from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., found that the lower the levels of vitamin D in a woman’s body the greater is the risk of her developing breast cancer.

Is Sen. Barack Obama too skinny to be president?
Vital Signs: Is Sen. Barack Obama too skinny to be president? Find out who thinks so at Vital Signs.